Ice fishing presents unique challenges for the fisherman. One of the biggest challenges is the danger of the fishing line freezing to the line eyelets on the fishing rod. Additionally, the fishing line may also freeze to the body of the fishing rod itself. Several systems currently exist that either de-ice the eyelets of the fishing rod (to free the fishing line), or warm the handle of the fishing rod (to make the fishing rod more comfortable to hold). Unfortunately, systems that provide the optimal heat distribution to both the eyelets and the rod body itself have yet to be achieved.
What is instead desired is a system to warm both the eyelets and the rod itself to ensure that the fishing line does not freeze to the eyelets or to the fishing rod itself when ice fishing. Such a system would ideally concentrate the heating around the eyelets of the fishing rod, yet still provide some heating to the body of the fishing rod itself. Ideally, such a system would be quick to heat up so that it is ready for use in a short time.
Moreover, safety is always a concern with existing fishing rod heating systems. Therefore, an ideal heating system would also ensure that those parts of the fishing rod that are the hottest are also farthest away from the fisherman.
Existing heating systems use a considerable amount of energy to ensure that the eyelets remain warm. What would instead be desired is a specially designed heated eyelet that efficiently focusses the heat around the eyelet without wasting energy.
Existing fishing rod heating systems have additional problems. For example, they tend to involve a large number of parts, with a large number of separate heating elements. What is instead desired is a heating system that simply uses a fewer heating elements. Conceivably, an ideal system could use only one long continuous heating wire element.